Possi-Bull

I am actually re-writing this post.  

Originally, this post was named Impossi-Bull.  It was all about how I had found a Kent Merker card from the one Durham Bulls team set that I can never find.  I have been looking for the set for years, and usually can only find single cards.  

Here is the Kent Merker.  

This is from the 1997 BellSouth Bulls To Braves set, which commemorates some of the better players from the years the Bulls were a Braves affiliate.  The Bulls were "promoted" to Triple A in 1998 and switched affiliations to the Devil Rays.   It's a fun little set, roughly 20 cards.  There are not only the obvious names like Chipper Jones, David Justice, and Brett Butler, but also some players who were great Minor Leaguers who flamed out for various reasons.  

Merker was the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year, and obviously made the Majors.  He was solid pitcher, played for almost 20 years with the more than half of those being spent with the Braves and Reds.  He also played two years for my Cardinals.  

The funny spot is on the plastic sleeve, not on the card.  

Merker was a great player in the Minors.  He was the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year, and posted some great numbers in Durham.  He won 11 of his 18 starts in A Ball and struck out 159 batters in just 127 innings.  I know, I was surprised that Kent Merker missed that many bats.  Not really that type of pitcher in the Majors.  

So, here is where the post changed.  I was going to point out that I can only find single cards, and that the single cards are generally more than I would pay for those players.  I really enjoy tracking down Durham Bulls cards, but am I going to pay $8 for an Al Martin card?  

It feels like a little much.  

So, I had not pushed "Publish" yet, when I got some Ebay notifications about new listings.  I bet you will never guess what got listed?  Half of the Durham Bulls to Braves set.  

There are another 10 cards that are not here, with the set being given out in two different series. There are cards here to I have never seen listed for sale, like the Chipper Jones.  The price still felt a little high for a partial Minor League set, but I managed to talk the seller down under $20.  

We'll see if I can find the other half of the set.  I already have two of the cards, so I am down to just seven player cards and a checklist.  None of them are on Ebay or COMC.